Former Oregon Ducks coach Ernie Kent will be the new men’s basketball coach at Washington State, replacing the recently fired Ken Bone.

WSU made the announcement Monday afternoon and will introduce Kent, 59, on Wednesday on the school’s home court at Beasley Coliseum. In a news release, WSU said Kent signed a five-year rollover contract, but further details were not disclosed.

Ernie Kent. (Getty Images)

“I am excited that Ernie will be the leader of our men’s basketball program,” WSU athletic director Bill Moos said. “I have witnessed firsthand his many talents. He has proven that he can win championships in our conference. Together we saw tremendous success at his alma mater and I have every reason to expect to see the same at mine.”

This is the second time Moos has hired Kent.

Moos brought Kent on as head coach of the Ducks in 1997, when Moos was the athletic director in Eugene. Kent spent 13 seasons at Oregon, where he had played as a student-athlete himself, and compiled a 235-174 overall record as the Ducks’ head coach.

Kent led Oregon to five appearances in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, including two trips to the Elite Eight in 2001-02 and 2006-07. His Ducks also won the Pac-10 regular-season championship in 2001-02, and the conference tournament title in 2002-03 and 2006-07.

However, after a first-round tourney loss to end the 2007-08 season, Kent’s Ducks plummeted from an 18-14 record to a paltry 8-23 in 2008-09. Oregon rebounded slightly the next season, but that 16-16 performance was Kent’s last in Eugene.

Since 2010, Kent has mainly worked as a basketball commentator for the Pac-12 Network.

Kent now takes over a mediocre Cougars team that hasn’t seen much success since Tony Bennett left for Virginia in 2009. After Bennett made the program nationally relevant again — let alone relevant in the conference — in five years the Cougs were 80-86 with no NCAA tournament appearances under Bone.

Before Oregon, Kent was head coach at St. Mary’s in Moranga, Calif., where he compiled a 90-80 overall record. He also spent time as an assistant at both Colorado State (1987 to ’89) and Stanford (’89 to ’91). Prior to his collegiate coaching days, he spent 1980 through ’87 as the basketball coach for the Saudi Arabian sports club Al-Khaleej.

“Getting back into coaching for me has meant finding the right program that matches up with my passion, my vision, my beliefs and my commitment, and I feel Washington State University fits all that criteria for me,” Kent said in WSU’s announcement.

“As a player (in the 1970s), I saw the energetic environment that George Raveling’s teams created” at WSU, Kent continued. “As an assistant I witnessed Kelvin Sampson’s squads and saw the magic here. And as a head coach I saw the excitement created by Tony Bennett.

“When WSU is having success, Beasley Coliseum is one of the best environments in the West. The students are so passionate. … When you’ve seen that arena full and the program was at it’s best, and now you have the opportunity to lead that program and you understand the potential that exists, that is very special to me.”